Entwined in Time
by TheSummerNightingale
Summary: When Hermione and Draco get put into detention together, a potion mishaps throws them back in time: into the Marauder era. As they begin to adjust to life twenty years into the past, they become closer and closer, sharing the same bond of wanting to go home.
1. Thrown Back

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.**

**To be honest, I've always wanted to read a story like this, where Hermione and Draco go back in time... So I guess that's probably why I wrote it - for people like me who've been searching for something like this! I'm a little hesitant to tackle a long story, but I think I'm up to the challenge... So enjoy!**

* * *

"Ferret."

"Bookworm."

"Moron."

"Incompetent."

Hermione Granger, age sixteen, growled in frustration. "Git."

"Mudblood." Draco Malfoy drawled back, looking completely unaffected by her insults.

"I hate you," Hermione hissed, angrily picking up the list of Potions ingredients they were supposed to be sorting out.

"Feeling's mutual," Draco retorted.

"It could help if you'd actually _do something_, seeing as it's _your_ fault I have to be stuck in a room with you for two whole hours!"

Draco, who was sitting lazily on a chair, his legs propped against the table, watched Hermione idly as she repeatedly walked from one end of the table to the other. "Didn't you tell me I was too disoriented to tell left from right? I couldn't even sort those out if I tried." He smirked.

"Yes, well, _I'm_ organizing, _you're _supposed to be making the potion!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, so you're begging me to help you then?"

"In your dreams, I just want to get out of here alive - your presence is sickening."

Draco got up and reached for his wand. "Fine then, seeing as I, for once, agree with you, I'll make the stupid potion."

"Finally," Hermione huffed.

There was a moment of blissful silence, then-

"What am I supposed to be making, again?"

"AH!" Hermione threw up her hands and, as calmly as she could without bursting with fury, mustered out, "You're making the Draught of Reenactment."

"Will do."

Hermione glared at him from over her list, as he mixed in ingredient after ingredient. Provoking her like that - it was no wonder Slughorn gave them detention. But Merlin, her first detention ever... she sighed. Harry and Ron had said a detention was good for her health once in awhile, but even thinking about it made the pit of her stomach feel sick.

Although that might have been just from being in the same room as Malfoy.

She picked up the last jar of bat eyes and placed them on the shelf. "There," she murmured, glad to be finished with her job. Turning around, she was about to ask Malfoy if he was done yet, when she noticed the ingredient he was about to put in - boomslang skin.

Her mind raced through the procedure for the draught, and arrived at the same conclusion as she'd initially thought. Boomslang skin wasn't part of the recipe.

"Malfoy, you might not want to-"

BOOM.

Apparently he had not heard, because a sudden blue glow erupted from the cauldron, enveloping both of the teens, and when the light disappeared, there was no trace of either of them but the echoes of Hermione's scream.

* * *

Far from the Potions dungeons, in his office, Albus Dumbledore sat up with a start. Perhaps it was his imagination, but...

He got up and walked to a drawer next to Fawkes's perch. All his years at Hogwarts, it had never opened, no matter what spell he tried. And he'd long forgotten how it got there in the first place, as well. But this time, the drawer opened with ease, no magic necessary.

Inside was a single letter. He carefully took it out and undid the seal, which was of the Hogwarts insignia. The yellowed parchment glowed under the moonlight, and he instantly recognized the careless, spidery handwriting as his own.

With a spark of interest building inside him, Albus Dumbledore began to read.

* * *

"Ow," Hermione muttered as she slowly regained consciousness. There was something on her. Something heavy. Hermione reached to push it off, whatever it was, and her fingers were met with something soft and silky. Perhaps it was Crookshanks that was on her? She couldn't think properly, and her head pounded like crazy. What was the last thing that had happened again?

"Granger, if you stroke my head one more time, I'll curse you to oblivion."

Hermione snapped her eyes open, and looked down at her hand. She screamed then pushed Malfoy off of her. "What - why - why were you _on_ me?!" she shrieked, standing up and brushing off her robes.

"As if I'd choose to be," he replied groggily, sitting up and holding his head. Evidently his head was faring as bad as hers.

She glared at him. "I _told_ you not to put it in, I _told _you, but would you listen? No!" she muttered.

"You never told me not to."

Hermione sighed, ignoring him, and said, "At least nothing happened. Just - just go finish - go finish..." She stared at the place where the cauldron was. Or, at least, _had been_. "So you've managed to melt the cauldron away, as well."

"Er. Are you alright?"

She stared at Malfoy for a moment. Her mind must have been pretty damaged, because she was sure she was hallucinating. Not only did he just ask her if she was alright, but his voice had changed pitch by about an octave.

Then her brain snapped to her senses, and she realized Malfoy had neither opened his mouth nor had the voice come from his direction. In fact, he was staring into a space behind her, gaping.

Hermione turned around. And nearly fainted again.

They were at the front of the Potions classroom, exactly as they were before. Except now sat twenty students staring curiously at them, and a professor nervously waiting for them to answer.

She sighed in relief when she saw the professor. "Oh, Professor Slughorn, Malfoy and I were just about finished with our detention, but - but we just accidently added the wrong ingredient to the potion. Everything's fine, although I think the cauldron - I think the cauldron..." she trailed off.

Professor Slughorn looked rather startled. In fact, more than "rather". He looked _very_ startled. And, she noticed, very _young._ "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't comprehend, Miss.. Miss..."

"Granger," Hermione supplied, a feeling of dread coming over her. "I'm in your sixth year class."

Professor Slughorn shook his head in surprise. "No, no, there must be a mistake. This _is_ my sixth year class." He gestured towards the room.

Hermione turned, gazing at the students who were looking straight back at her. She didn't recognize anyone, except Harry, who was sitting at the back. But where was Ron? She tried to communicate to Harry with her eyes, something they'd gotten fairly good at. But his only response was a wink and a nudge to the person sitting next to him.

And then it hit her. She wildly scanned the room again, and this time, her gaze landed on a girl sitting in the front row with red hair and green eyes.

Hermione turned back to Malfoy, wide-eyed. "Malfoy," she said monotonously. "What. Did. You. Do?"

He raised his eyebrows at her tone. "Nothing."

Hermione glanced once more at the Harry-lookalike, and the girl sitting at the front. No, surely nothing had happened. Surely this was a dream, it was just Malfoy's potion fiasco that was making her imagine it, because this simply could not be happening.

She turned to Slughorn. "If you don't mind me asking, what year is it?"

He looked mildly surprised. "1976, of course!"

And this time, Hermione really did faint.

* * *

**Okay, I wrote all this in one day, so I really hope that there's no errors or anything.. And I kind of had writer's block at the end of this, so it has a slightly rushed ending, in my opinion. Please review, I'd really appreciate that! Thanks :)**


	2. Meeting the Marauders

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the plot :P**

**Alright - time for a little longer chapters! Hopefully... haha, well, here it is! I'm currently on break, so I'll probably be updating again this week.. Enjoy!**

* * *

Hermione groaned and tried forced her eyes open. Once again, her head was pounding viciously and her vision was blurred.

"Ah, so you've awakened!" someone said.

Hermione was lying on something soft and cushiony. She managed to catch sight of Madam Pomfrey bustling over her, waving her wand. She closed her eyes tiredly against the bright sun streaming through the windows, which meant it was probably already morning. She was at the Hospital Wing, then. But why?

A sudden jolt of realization brought Hermione's energy back to life and she surged up into a sitting position, her eyes flying wide open.

Draco was sitting in the bed across from her, staring at her distastefully. "Finally," she heard him mutter, then he raised his voice and said, "I thought you were well trained for this, Granger. _Constant vigilance_. But no, you had to go and faint in front of an entire classroom."

She couldn't find the strength to glare at him, but instead replied bitingly, "If I could, I'd punch you again, so shut your trap, Malfoy."

"Now, now, you've got to rest, Miss Granger," Madam Pomfrey said, gently pushing Hermione back down to her pillow. "The headmaster wishes to speak to you, so I advise you take it slowly."

As if on cue, Professor Dumbledore happily walked through the Hospital Wing doors. "Ah, a little bird told me you'd awakened, Miss Granger. Now, Poppy, if you don't mind.."

Madam Pomfrey nodded graciously and retreated into her office, closing the door.

Dumbledore sat down onto a chair near Hermione's bed, then said, "Care for a gumdrop?"

Hermione shook her head. She couldn't help but feel quite relieved Dumbledore was here - he'd make sure they'd get back to their own time.

"So, Mr. Malfoy here says that you have traveled from 1996, so twenty years past, by a potion that exploded when an incorrect ingredient was placed in it, correct?"

She nodded, and a thought occurred to her. Was time in the future moving too? Whatever would happen with Harry and Ron? She glanced at Dumbledore. He was staring off into space, as if he'd forgotten what he was there for.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Er, Professor? Do you know how to get us back to our own time?"

Dumbledore turned his attention to her. "Ah, well, here's where we might have a little problem. As I told Mr. Malfoy, nothing of this sort has occurred anywhere in documented history, so I'm afraid we've got nothing to work on." He must have seen the horrified look on Hermione's face, because he hastened to say, "But I've got a friend working as an Unspeakable, who is closely connected with the Timeturner industry, so I've sent an owl to him hoping he can help."

"Okay, but sir? What are we-" she gestured to herself and Malfoy, "-supposed to do while we're here?"

"Oh, this can be easily solved," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "While we await a solution, you may continue your studies here. After all, I'm sure Hogwarts has not changed its curriculum so drastically throughout the years."

"Wait." Hermione turned in surprise to Malfoy, who had finally said something. "What about our houses?"

"This is where I believe it would be best for you to be in the same house, so you may communicate better," Dumbledore said. "Mr. Malfoy, you're in Slytherin, and Miss Granger, in Gryffindor, correct?"

"Yes," Hermione said hesitantly.

Dumbledore clapped. "Then we'll have you choose to be in whatever house that would fit both of you!"

"Gryffindor," Hermione said immediately, at the same time that Draco commented, "Slytherin."

She glared at him. "I'm not going to be in Slytherin."

"Well, I'm not going to be in _Gryffindor_," he sneered.

"I'm fairly certain Gryffindor wouldn't want you either," Hermione huffed, "but seeing as it's your fault we're here in the first place, I should at least get to choose what house we're in."

Dumbledore, who'd been amusedly watching them, said, "So that's settled! You'll both be in Gryffindor, which means there will have to be some adjustments to your tie, Mr. Malfoy." He waved his wand, and the green and silver stripes turned to red and gold.

Draco looked revolted at the sight of the colors and gingerly took it off.

The headmaster got up. "I have some businesses to attend to, so I must bid you goodbye and good luck. Your dorms shall be prepared, and I'm sure the Head Girl and Head Boy will give you your schedule."

"Oh, Professor!" Hermione remembered something. "What about our names? Some of these people, well, they'll know us in the future, so shouldn't we disguise ourselves, maybe?"

"It won't do any good," Draco said with an impatient tone, before Dumbledore could reply. "All of the people that would be in our year already saw us, and thanks to your careless choice of words, know our surnames already."

Hermione opened her mouth to retort, before realizing for once, he was right. Still, she thought indignantly, he could have been less offensive.

Dumbledore laughed merrily, then left them with a "Have a nice day, Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger". Hermione didn't exactly fancy the look on Dumbledore's face that only showed too well that he thoroughly enjoyed watching Malfoy and herself fight.

She turned to Malfoy. "For the record, you'd have been the last person I'd choose to be in this situation with."

"Goes for you as well."

Madam Pomfrey peeked out of her office. "Oh, the headmaster's gone, then? Alright, I think you're all set, Miss Granger, just drink the potion on the counter, then you can leave."

"Thank you," Hermione said, downing the frothy potion that she hoped would cure her headache. It did, and it was with gratitude that she smiled at Madam Pomfrey as she got off the bed.

"Well, I'm going to go to the tower now," she said shortly to Draco, "so you just go off and do whatever you want."

"See, Granger, that's what I'd like to do, except one little problem; I haven't got anything to do."

She glared daggers at him. "It's your fault we're here, so don't start complaining."

Draco scoffed. "Yeah, well, it's not like I've got all my best mates around to talk to."

"Whatever, ferret." Hermione started towards the door and opened it. The hall was empty - everyone was probably at breakfast.

She heard a scuffle behind her and whipped around. "Why are you following me?"

"Because I don't know how to get to the tower, Granger. Aren't you supposed to be a know-it-all? Show me the way, and I'll gladly stay away from you."

Hermione growled in frustration. "Fine."

She quickly started up the stairs, Malfoy lagging behind her. She felt a tap on her shoulder, then stopped abruptly in her tracks. "What's it _now_?" she hissed, turning.

Turns out, it wasn't Malfoy.

"Hey, just wanted to give a friendly greeting, but that's alright too," said James Potter, smirking, "I like feisty girls. I'm James, by the way. And the one that's coming is Sirius."

Hermione couldn't breathe. He looked so much like Harry that it seemed impossible she had really traveled back in time. His black, untidy hair could have been the same she'd ruffled yesterday morning, his glasses the ones she'd mended countless times. Except for his eyes, Harry was the exact replica of his father.

"Thought Evans was the one for you, Prongs," came another voice from behind him, and out popped a boy with long black hair and a careless grin across his face.

Once again, Hermione's breath caught. Sirius.

It was odd to see him again, so much younger, so much more free. As she looked at James and Sirius playfully clapping each other on the back, she couldn't help but feel homesick - after all, wasn't this the exact scenario she'd endure back at home, with Harry and Ron?

She shook her head to clear out her thoughts. Pondering over home would be no good if they'd have to stay here for a long time. She glanced behind James and Sirius, where Draco stood raising his eyebrows disgustedly at them.

"Say, what's your name anyhow?" asked James, after he and Sirius had finished joking around.

"Er.. Hermione. Hermione Granger," she replied. "And that's Draco."

"Draco, hmm? Looks like ol' Lucy," Sirius commented.

Hermione winced. Even from a distance, she could see Malfoy's body tense up at the mention of his father. With a start, she realized if they were to be staying in this era, eventually father and son would meet. How complicating. She sighed.

"He's in Gryffindor," she said quickly, which only made Malfoy glare at her.

"Oh, so he can't be that bad, huh," James pondered, then walked over to swing an arm around Draco's shoulder.

"So where are you two headed?" Sirius asked, copying James's action, except this time, onto Hermione.

"Well, I'd tell you, but I'm not all for random people coming up and invading my personal space," she said sweetly, ducking out from under Sirius's arm.

He put a hand over his heart, and said in a wounded tone, "That hurts, Granger, that really does."

There came a chuckle at the end of the hall. "Serves you right, Padfoot," said Remus Lupin, who was carrying a book in his hands. And trailing behind him was...

Peter Pettigrew. Hermione bit her lip in order to stop herself from lashing out at him. At this point in time, he hadn't even been influenced by the Dark Side yet, she reminded herself.

"New here?" Remus asked kindly to Hermione and Draco.

"Yes," she said. "I'm Hermione."

"And this one here is Draco," added James, "They're both in Gryffindor."

Hermione couldn't help noticing that Malfoy was being almost unbearably quiet. Apparently, so had Sirius, because he left Hermione's side to go prod Draco, who looked appalled at being touched by him.

"Do.. you... talk...?" Sirius asked very slowly, with the manner of speaking to a young child.

"Yes, in fact I do, so get your filthy hands off me," Draco snapped.

Hermione let out a groan, then hastened to say, "Don't worry, he's always a prat."

But according to the two Marauders, "prat" was not the right word. Instead, Hermione watched, slack-jawed, as James and Sirius marveled over Draco.

"He's got the wit," James said gleefully.

"And the looks," Sirius added.

"With some practice, he can become the next Marauder!" they chorused, flinging their arms around Draco's shoulders and pushing him up the stairs towards the Gryffindor Tower. Peter stumbled from behind Remus to catch up to them.

"Are they always this weird?" Hermione asked bemusedly.

"This? This is nothing," Remus said, shaking his head as they followed the four up the steps.

"So what was with the whole 'appearing out of nowhere' act yesterday, in Potions?" Remus asked, smiling slightly.

"Oh, that.." Hermione tried to think up of something quickly, but ended up telling the truth. "Well, we kind of had an accident."

Remus nodded, then said, "Dumbledore said that you two were transfer students?"

"Yeah, we are."

"You seem to know your way around," he said, looking slightly puzzled.

"Oh, erm..." Hermione was at a loss of words. She mentally cursed herself for walking so swiftly - it was obvious she knew her way around. Luckily, Remus didn't push the subject.

"So where was this school of yours before?" he asked.

"Er... let's just say from far, far away."

"You're from the same school? You and Draco, I mean? What's it like there?"

Merlin, Hermione thought, how many questions did this young version of her former professor _have_? At this rate, he was going to ask a question that she simply could not answer. "We're from the same school, and.. well, you could say it's like Hogwarts."

Remus was silent for a moment, then commented, "So you're pretty good friends, then, right?"

"Pardon?"

"You and Draco, you're good friends?"

Hermione gaped, then started to laugh. "No, no, no, no, no, we're not friends, in fact, you could say we're enemies. That idiot," she added under her breath.

He raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment, as they walked up the last flight of stairs to the corridor with the Fat Lady hanging at the end of it.

"The password is 'Quidditch', by the way," Remus said offhandedly. "James convinced Frank - that's the Head Boy - because he's got an obsession with the sport."

The portrait swung open to reveal the red and gold common room Hermione was so used to. James, Sirius, and Peter were with Malfoy in front of the fireplace, the place Harry, Ron, and herself liked to sit.

As they approached the group, Hermione noticed the girl she was sure was Harry's mother was standing there as well. Apparently James had done something terribly wrong, because she was yelling at him in fury, sparks dangerously flying from her wand.

"You are an imbecile!" she was exclaiming, a glint of deep loathing in her eye, "You think you can just strut around here, like you own the place! How many times to I have to tell you to just stop it and grow up?!"

James, who looked fairly undisturbed by her commotion that had attracted the attention of everyone in the tower, replied lightly, "Now, now, Evans, no need to get so worked up, it was just for a bit of fun."

"A bit of fun? _A bit of fun_?! You ought to be _expelled_, for all the curses you used on him!"

Hermione was hit by a vague memory of Harry explaining James's hatred for Snape, and Lily's friendship with him. Perhaps... perhaps they were arguing about something James did? Before Hermione could continue her thoughts, James spotted Hermione and Remus standing behind Lily.

"Ah, Hermione, Moony, you've finally made it!" he said, sweeping past Lily and grabbing Hermione's arm. "Evans, this is Hermione. She and Draco here are transfer students, and I believe you've terrified her with your hysterics just now."

Hermione batted away James's hand and held out her own to Lily. "No such thing, James; from what I heard, _you're_ the one at fault. Hermione, Hermione Granger," she added to Lily.

Lily flashed James a triumphant smile, then grinned at Hermione, shaking her hand. "I'm Lily Evans, and I'm really sorry that you had to meet this lot here. Hogwarts would be so much better without them... Except for Remus, of course, he's mostly alright."

"Yes, I've deducted," Hermione replied, smiling as well.

"How about I show you to our dorms? You're in our year, right?" Lily asked curiously.

Hermione nodded. "Both of us," she said, gesturing to herself and Malfoy, who had decided to brood silently again.

Lily clapped happily. "Great! We don't get lots of transfer students - especially in the middle of the year like this - and if we do, then they're usually in first year or something. Come on, I'll get you settled in." With one last reproachful glare at James, Lily led Hermione up the stairs to the sixth-year dorms.

"Normally, the Head Girl would be doing this," Lily said, "but she's actually out with the Head Boy right now." She laughed. "They're quite cute, really."

Hermione cocked her head to one side. Remus had mentioned the Head Boy's name was Frank. Surely it couldn't be...?

"Alice, by the way. The Head Girl is Alice McKinnon, and the Head Boy's Frank Longbottom," Lily commented knowingly, as if she had read Hermione's thoughts and known she was about to ask.

Hermione nodded, and suddenly felt the rush of exhilaration at meeting Harry's parents leave her. Instead, it was replaced with a horrible knot that clawed at her innards, threatening to come out.

"Here it is," Lily opened a door, the same one Hermione would back in her own time. "Home sweet home. Except you could say that about the entire castle; it's really all just homely."

Hermione walked in. There were the normal five beds lined against the wall, and a sixth was awkwardly placed in the corner. Everyone, it seemed, was outside, and it was no wonder, since, she realized, it was Saturday.

"Sorry about that," Lily said worriedly, pointing to the sixth bed. "It was only just put in here, and it doesn't fit in very well. If you want, I could switch with you," she offered.

"No, it's perfect," Hermione said, sitting on her bed.

"Don't you have any luggage?" Lily asked, peering around Hermione's bed, looking for a trunk.

"Er, no." She'd forgotten to ask. "It was sort of.. lost in the process. But I'll ask Dumbledore next time I see him," she quickly put in, seeing the gleam of determination in Lily's eye that Harry always got he set himself to something.

Lily looked only slightly consoled by this, but didn't say anything more about it.

A sudden shout came from downstairs, unmistakably by the Marauders. Lily let out a low growl, then told Hermione, "I'll be right back." She rushed out of the room, her fingers dangerously fingering her wand pocket.

Hermione let out a little smile. When Harry had told them that his mother had hated his father with a passion almost all throughout their Hogwarts years, she'd found it slightly hard to believe. But now, she was seeing this with her own eyes - seeing everyone with her own eyes. And it was painful to know that these very people would die in two years.

But then again, that was the case with pretty much everyone she would see and meet.

Hermione sighed, laying her head on her pillow. Her last thought before drifting off was that it would be so much better if instead of Malfoy, or even herself, Harry could be here to meet his long gone parents.

* * *

**Ah, I feel horrible because I know there was really little Draco-Hermione interaction in this chapter - I didn't know how to clash his personality into the Marauders'! But never fear - I swear the next chapter will have a lot more of them together.**

**Thanks so much for all the reviews, I really appreciate them! Please, if you can, review for this chapter too! :)**


	3. Malfoy and Hogsmeade

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot!**

**I completely forgot to put something in the last chapter, so I've just put this at the beginning of this chapter: sorry about that! I really do hope I'm not speeding up the plot line too fast - please let me know if I am! **

**Thanks for the support, and enjoy!**

* * *

**1996**

Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk expectantly, fingering the letter he had just completed reading. The two he had called up to his office would arrive soon - though he wondered how they would take it.

He _had_ considered asking others to come along, but in the end, decided that the news would only spread faster. He was certain this would leak out eventually - a secret was never a secret at Hogwarts for long - but perhaps it would be stalled for a moment or two longer if only the two knew.

Besides, if all happened as it was supposedly planned, none of them would remember it anyway.

There came a knock at the door. "Come in," he said pleasantly.

The great oak door swung open gently to reveal the slightly worried face of Harry Potter, and behind him, wearing the same expression, Ronald Weasley. So they knew, he thought, they knew it had to do with their best friend.

"Take a seat," he gestured. The two boys sat down in front of his desk.

"As you've most likely noticed," he began, "Miss Granger is not present." He saw Harry's shoulders tense up and Ronald's eyes and ears become alert. "Nothing is drastically wrong," he hastened to say, "except I do believe she has traveled through time."

Harry blinked in bewilderment. "What do you mean by that, Professor? Does she still use that Timeturner she had?"

"No, Harry, I mean that Miss Granger has somehow traveled many years past, to a time where she does not belong. Twenty years past, to be exact."

"Twenty years-" Ronald's eyes widened. "Blimey, Harry, isn't that when your parents were at Hogwarts?"

Albus observed the black-haired boy carefully. Harry's hand twitched at the mention of his parents, and his face slightly contorted. "Yeah," he said quietly. His head shot up. "How do you know that's where Hermione is?"

"This," he said, holding up the letter between two fingers. Harry looked as if he wanted to grab it out of his hand and read it, but instead clenched the sides of his chair expectantly.

"I shall tell you more in due time, my boys," Albus said calmly, "but for now, I know little more than you. But I will tell you this - she is with Mr. Malfoy."

Ronald nearly jumped out of his seat, while Harry's eyes popped wide open. "_Malfoy_? She's with that git?!" Ronald exclaimed incredulously. "Why?"

"Detention," said Harry suddenly, snapping his fingers. "I'll bet you anything it was because they were in detention together. Something must've happened then."

The headmaster nodded. "That is correct."

"_Merlin_," Ronald commented, sliding down in his seat. "How's she going to get back?"

"That," he said, "I do not know the answer to yet." He saw the disappointed looks of someone who had expected much more appear on both of the boys' faces. "But I have not called you here in vain. There is something deeply vital to their sudden disappearance that no one but us may know. By staying to listen, you are making a vow not to pass this onto anyone else. Understood?"

Albus saw the eager looks in their eyes and knew they would accept before they nodded. He only wondered if curiosity was enough.

* * *

**1976**

Hermione woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside. She yawned and peered at her clock. It was seven in the morning - no one would be waking up early on a Sunday. Pulling off her covers, she slowly slid out of her bed.

Yesterday had been so tiring - she'd slept until noon, where she was promptly dragged out of bed by Lily for lunch. Then, she'd spent the afternoon with the Marauders, looking on amusedly as they tried to get Malfoy to talk - no such luck, seeing as he left after about two questions were asked.

She wondered why he was being so quiet, but seeing as he was usually so annoying, this was an advantage towards herself.

Soon, it had been time for dinner, and afterwards, she'd met the remaining four girls in her year: Hannah Mitchell, Emma Spinnet, Poppy Tremain, and Jessamine Miller. Hannah was a rather quiet, shy girl, but was really pretty and nice. Emma was more upbeat and flashy, and seemed to be the matchmaker of the group. Poppy was by far the most hyper and outgoing, and treated Hermione as if she'd known her for years. Lastly, Jessamine had a sharp mouth but could be awfully sweet sometimes.

She quickly brushed her teeth and did her best to straighten her robes she had slept in. She would have to remember to ask Dumbledore about her clothes soon - she couldn't stay like this everyday.

After tying her hair up in a quick ponytail, Hermione decided she'd go down to the common room and have time to herself, before people started to wake up. She'd always been a morning person, and couldn't bear to sleep past eight.

Creeping as quietly as she could, she slipped out of the dormitory and descended down the stairs, glad to finally have the chance to be alone.

Except she really didn't, because someone was already there.

"Malfoy?" she said in surprise. He was sitting on a chair near the fireplace, staring into the charred wood both expressionlessly and motionlessly.

He didn't respond, and she slowly walked to the couch next to the chair. "Er - can I sit?"

Her answer was a raised eyebrow, no more, no less. Fighting off the urge to yell at him, she carefully sat down and glanced at him. He was still staring stoically into the fireplace, giving no sense of acknowledgement towards her. Or life, for that matter.

Hermione glanced at the fireplace. Perhaps staring into it would help her sort out her feelings, and that was why he was doing it? She decided to give it a try, partly because she was desperate, and partly because she really didn't think she could get the solitary thought process going with Malfoy there, even though he may as well not have been there, for all he was doing.

Rather, _wasn't_ doing.

After the picture of wood was burned into her brain with no progress whatsoever to what she was aiming for, Hermione gave up and said, "What are you doing up so early?"

No reply.

She spoke again, not really knowing why she was trying so hard to have a conversation with Draco Malfoy. "It's nice here, don't you think? Except I kind of miss Harry and Ron, it's a bit lonely without them. I wonder how they're doing? I do wish they were here, Harry deserves to meet his parents."

This time, he glanced at her, only to say, "Do you ever stop talking, Granger?"

She huffed. "Well, it's not my fault that _someone_ won't continue the conversation."

"Who said we were having a conversation in the first place?"

"What do you expect me to do, just sit here silently and stare at the same place for forever?"

"Yeah, that'd actually be nice, I wouldn't have to hear you blabbering on about Potter."

"Oh, shut up," she said exasperatedly, "aren't you the least bit homesick as well?"

"No," he said shortly, turning back to the fireplace.

"Should've known," she muttered.

There was a scuffle at the girls' stairs, and both Draco and Hermione quickly looked up.

"Sorry," Lily whispered to them, holding onto the banister sheepishly. She was still in her night robe. "I just heard voices, and I came down to check what was going on."

"Don't worry about it," Hermione assured. "I was just about to leave."

Lily didn't reply until Hermione had joined her and they were halfway up the stairs. "I'm really sorry about that," she said, "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Really, it's fine," Hermione said quickly.

"So nothing important was going on?"

"Nope."

"Are you two close?" Lily asked curiously.

Hermione gave a short laugh. "Close enemies."

She raised her eyebrows. "So why've only you and him come, if you don't like each other?"

"Er... we didn't really have a choice," Hermione replied truthfully.

They quietly pushed the sixth year dormitory door open. "I'm going to get changed," Lily whispered.

Hermione nodded as Lily rummaged through her trunk and tip-toed into the bathroom. But instead of waiting around for Lily to finish and the others to wake up, she decided that she'd go ahead and ask Dumbledore about her clothes. Creeping quietly down the stairs, she was surprised to find Malfoy had apparently left the common room as well, because it was completely empty.

Just as Hermione was about to leave the tower, she realized that Malfoy was probably in the same predicament as she, having nothing to wear and all. With a regretful sigh, she headed towards the boys' dormitories and soundlessly pushed open the door.

They were all still sleeping, every one of the Marauders. It was strange to see them so young, so free, so unaffected. She sighed and made way to the sitting form of Draco Malfoy on his bed.

"Malfoy," she hissed. He jumped.

"_What the _- GRANGER! What - what - how did - why - _why the hell are you in here_?" he spluttered angrily.

She raised her eyebrow loftily. "Actually, I was thinking to ask you if you wanted to come to Dumbledore with me to ask about what we're going to do about our nonexistent luggage. But I should have known - ferrets aren't so sensitive to these things as normal human beings."

"You should talk, bookworm. Coming into the boys' dormitory."

Before Hermione could answer, there was a rustle, and a groggy voice said, "Granger? That you? Heard the rumors and come to me, haven't you?"

Hermione's eyes widened as she took up the meaning, and before Draco could stop her with an "Oi! That's mine!", she picked up his pillow and threw it at the half-awake Sirius. "Shut. Up. Black," she said threateningly.

"Don't recall telling you my last name," he replied lazily, catching the pillow in his hand, "but you're welcome to use it anytime, _Hermione_."

"Honestly, I've spent a day here, do you think I wouldn't have learned _something_ about you?"

"Hear that, Prongs? We're famous.."

James rolled over on his bed. "Yeah... say, what time is it?"

"Seven thirty," Hermione said shortly. "Too late to still be in bed."

"Isn't it Sunday?" asked Remus, sitting up and rubbing his eyes against the light, yawning. "And what are you doing here anyway, Hermione?"

"Well, I was _going_ to get Malfoy to come down to Dumbledore's office with me, but he's being - what's the word? Oh, yes - _childish_ about it."

"Go by yourself, Granger, I'll go later, I don't want to be seen with you," drawled Malfoy, who didn't seem the least bit interested in the Marauders' presence, or the fact that he was being carefully analyzed by the three, awakened Marauders.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine then, I'll go by myself." Maybe _now_ she'd get her time alone.

But as soon as she said that, James leapt out of bed, saying, "Come on, Granger, wait for me!", which made Sirius throw off his covers to race to the bathroom after James, calling something along the lines of "Better luck tomorrow, Hermione, love", and as soon as they were done, they were pulling Remus out of bed to help them prank Peter to get up, and when Peter, drenched in ice-cold water, woke up, they instantly want to drag the unwilling Draco from his bed and follow along.

"All set!" Sirius said joyfully, looking at the half-demolished room, slick with water, a dent in the wall where Malfoy's jinx had narrowly missed James. He was now being restrained by James and Remus who were pulling him to the door.

Hermione shook her head and waved her wand. The water evaporated, the wall was fixed, and the covers on the beds were straightened and organized. "Let's go," she said, half amusedly, and half tiredly. Maybe she'd get her "alone" time later on.

But "later on" wasn't after breakfast, which James and Sirius had insisted on. "Later on" wasn't trying to drag Draco through the hallways, his insults bouncing off every wall of the corridor. "Later on" certainly wasn't trying to figure out the password to Dumbledore's office. And "later on" wasn't when Dumbledore told them he was going to allow Hermione and Draco (and the Marauders, when they begged) to go to Hogsmeade to get whatever necessities they needed.

It was with an exhausted groan that Hermione walked through the Hogsmeade gates, Draco glaring at her back, mumbling something about her causing trouble and pulling him into this. She privately thought that if he should harbor any bad feelings, they should be directed at the Marauders, who had _literally_ dragged him into it.

"So, where to first?" she asked Sirius, who had bounded up next to her.

"Oh, we'll keep walking till we see clothes in a shop," he said in a carefree tone, casually looping his arm around her shoulders.

She pushed him away. "Thanks, that's quite descriptive."

"Hey, we're not girls, we don't know! Well, except for Moony, he has an extremely girly scream," he added as an afterthought.

"I wish Lily were here," Hermione muttered. "You guys are no help."

"Lily? Did someone say Lily? I heard Lily. Who said Lily?" James hopped (quite literally) to Hermione and Sirius.

"I did. And what of it? Do you fancy her?" Hermione said innocently.

"That's like asking Moony if he likes chocolate. He's _obsessed _with Evans," Sirius said, "but she hates him with a burning passion."

"Ah, but someday, Evans will wake up, and that burning hate will turn into a burning flame of love," James declared dramatically, as they passed Honeydukes.

Hermione laughed, partly because this was to be true.

After about half an hour, she, Malfoy, and the Marauders emerged out of a clothing shop at the curb they had found, the two carrying a couple of bags that they hoped would last the time they stayed.

As they made their way back to Hogwarts, James suddenly bolted upright, pointed to a shop down the street, and said, "Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail, we've got to take this chance to go to the joke shop!"

Sirius snapped his fingers. "Right you are, Prongs, can't believe you remembered before me!"

They rushed up to Hermione and Draco. "Hermione. Draco. We have so humbly escorted you through Hogsmeade, so could you do us one itty bitty favor and let us go to the joke shop?"

Malfoy looked as if he couldn't care less, while Hermione bit her lip in worry. She wasn't very partial about weaving through the rules.

James saw this, and he instantly grabbed Hermione's hand and looked into her eyes. "Hermione, dearest, if you let us go, I promise we will prank the person you have the deepest loathing for in the most horrible, torturous way we can possibly think of."

"That," she said, yanking her hand out of his, concealing a grin, "would be Malfoy."

Sirius gasped. "How cruel, how cruel, asking us to prank a fellow Marauder?"

"I'm not a Marauder," Draco scowled as Sirius patted his head.

"Well, you haven't gone through the ritual yet, but we can do that tonight, if you wish," James said, waving his hand carelessly.

"You're joking, Potter, if you think I'd stoop that low."

"I can see what you mean, he _does_ have the right attitude," put in Remus, who was observing Draco.

"Not you too, Remus!" Hermione wailed. "Are Peter and I the only sane ones here?"

Peter, who looked startled to be addressed, looked like he was caught between sympathizing with Hermione and following his idols.

"So it's a yes then?" asked James. "We can go?"

"Fine," she huffed.

"We love you forever, Hermione," Sirius said solemnly, before turning to James and saying, "Race you there, Prongs!"

The two started off the street, while Remus, who smiled apologetically, and Peter rushed off after them, leaving Hermione and Draco alone with their bags.

Hermione couldn't help it - she smirked and said to Malfoy, "I never took you the type to become a Marauder. So were all those years hating Harry fake?" She began calmly walking down to the joke shop.

He gritted his teeth and followed her. "You are insufferable, Granger."

"I've noticed I only tend to be around other insufferable people."

"And I'm the fake?"

She stopped in her tracks whipped around. "You sure talk a lot, when you're not around them. Tell me, why are you so silent when you're near other people, like the Marauders, or Lily?"

"Excuse me if I don't fancy becoming Potter's parents' best mates."

"No, but you're unusually quiet. Not that I mind, but it's getting quite nerve wracking."

"Yeah, what of it, Granger? Going to make me talk? I'd like to see you try."

Hermione continued down the sidewalk. "I'm just wondering. People do tend to talk around others, like you're doing now."

"How observant of you."

They stopped in front of the door to the joke shop. Hermione leaned on the wall and looked at Draco appraisingly. "Could it be.. you're homesick?"

"No."

"Hmm... is it because you don't like this era?"

"No."

"Is it because you've never met anyone quite like the Marauders, who are so willing to accept you?" She knew this was taking it one step too far the moment the words left her mouth.

She was right. Draco's eyes hardened and he clenched his fists. "_No_, Granger, that's not it, so shut your Mudblood mouth and go back where you came from."

"See," she said, taking a step closer to him angrily, "I'd _like_ to, but if you haven't remembered, _it's quite impossible right now_."

He advanced towards her as well. "You think everything revolves around you, because _Potter's_ your best friend, _The Boy Who Lived_, and you're his sidekick -"

"Have you not been living in the same world as me?" she said viciously. "_Harry_ _isn't here!_ Neither is Ron, neither is anyone I've grown up with - all the people we met here are_ dead_, and all you can think about is how Harry is better - Well, I have news for you! Harry's not even _born _yet, and you've just met his dead parents! Would it hurt to stop being so moody and trying to get along with people?"

"It's not that easy, Granger," he spat back. "Just because everything in your life is so perfect doesn't mean-"

The joke shop door opened and the two froze. Out stepped James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, the latter huffing and carrying a bag that looked heavier than both of Hermione's bags combined. James and Sirius stopped abruptly staring at Hermione and Draco. A mischievous glint came into both of their eyes.

"Well, well, well," said James silkily.

"Look what we have here," Sirius said, shaking his head with a sigh.

"What happened to 'deepest loathing'?"

"Barely a Marauder, and he's already got the pretty girl," Sirius added regretfully.

"Although," James thought out loud, "Padfoot, you've got all the girls in the school already."

"Yes, but that's not the same as a foreign-not-foreign girl, is it?" he sighed.

Hermione's eyes darted back and forth between them. "_What_ are you two blabbering on about?"

Their reply was a simply wagging of their eyebrows and a wink. She suddenly realized how close she and Malfoy were to each other and jumped back, blushing. "It was nothing, really," she said desperately to the laughing Marauders.

"Whatever you say, Hermione," James winked again.

"Malfoy! Do something, tell them!" she pleaded.

But he had retreated back to his "quiet" mode, and only stalked ahead. Remus hastened to join him, but even from behind, Hermione could see that his attempts to start a conversation were in vain.

With one more frustrated groan and an offhanded threat to James and Sirius, Hermione trudged up to the castle with her bags, feeling more tired than she thought was humanly possible.

* * *

**Pretty good - a chapter in one day! Hehe, well, I thought it was fairly good this time; but please, oh please, tell me what you think! I love having feedback - whether it's bad news or good, so please review! Thanks :D**

**(P.S. I'll try to update again this weekend, but no promises!)**


	4. Father and Son

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot! **

**I was really excited to write this chapter, and I know that some of you readers were excited to read this even before I wrote it! "Father and Son" explains everything, doesn't it? And here it is... the anticipated meeting! Enjoy!**

* * *

The next week passed by in a blur, Hermione meeting the Head Girl, going to classes to see her teachers twenty years younger. She was beginning to fit into this society that was so much like her own, yet unmeasurably different. In fact, everything was so normal and busy that she'd forgotten all about Malfoy - it was like he wasn't even there.

Since their fight at Hogsmeade, they had barely spoken to each other - but that worked out fine for Hermione, since she really didn't want to be bothered by him anyway.

Besides, Sirius had told her (quite regretfully) that pretty much every girl in the school was head-over-heels in love with Draco, so Hermione felt _thankful_ that she didn't have to speak to him anymore; the thought of girls going crazy over that git was enough to make her want to throw up.

The only drawback about leaving any room that contained the blasted Slytherin-turned-Gryffindor was that the Marauders and Lily constantly badgered her about speaking to him: "You can't avoid each other forever," Lily would say reproachfully, to which Hermione replied that she was sure he didn't mind at all, and neither did she.

According to the Marauders, this was something along the lines of which Malfoy had told them as well, which, she assumed, only meant that he was finally coming out of his shell and socializing. At least he was doing something right.

Unfortunately, this blissful time of not having to see Draco Malfoy or even feel his presence had to come at an end, and it was certainly not in the way Hermione would have expected (or wanted) it to be.

It was just after lunch, and Hermione was walking alongside Lily to Charms, happily chatting away, when a shadow fell over them and she promptly crashed into someone.

"I'm so sorry!" she gasped, slowly backing away before looking up in shock, then annoyance. "Oh - it's you," she muttered. What was Malfoy doing, making her crash into him like that? Wasn't he the one who had _started_ avoiding her?

Well, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of embarrassing her in the hallway. She proudly stalked past him, her chin up.

Or at least, she tried to.

"What the - what's your problem?" she spluttered as he stuck an arm out, barely missing her as she stopped abruptly.

"I've heard there's two foreign students here now. You must be one of them, the Granger girl," said a calm voice, and it was the voice that made Hermione realize that whoever this person was, it was not Draco Malfoy.

She was pretty close though, she thought, when she turned around and analyzed the person who was blocking her path. Not _Draco_ Malfoy, but _Lucius_ Malfoy.

"Yeah, I am," she said, not wanting to stay for long. It was so odd to see the father of her most hated enemy in the world. Especially when they looked so much like each other.

"Tut, tut. I heard nothing about how rude you'd be. Where's the other one?"

"Right here," said someone, who had a voice so similar in tone that they may as well have been from the same person.

Hermione quickly turned, as did Lucius, to stare at the replica of the latter. Draco's eyes met hers, and she narrowed them, as if to say, "What do you _think _you're doing?!", because if there was one person they shouldn't involve themselves with, it was Lucius Malfoy, Draco's _father._

His father, that was, twenty years into the future.

As for now, they were about the same age, and if she didn't know better, she'd have thought they were twins.

"And the other one arrives," said Lucius coldly, who recovered quite quickly for someone who had just met a complete stranger who looked exactly like himself. He raised his eyebrow. "I've heard the rumors, of our similarities. You don't.. happen to be a Malfoy, do you?"

"I am."

"Funny. The first Gryffindor I've ever seen. What's your name, again?"

"Draco."

"I don't recall a Draco being in the family."

"You wouldn't."

Hermione inwardly groaned. At this rate, he'd reveal everything. And with the crowd slowly growing bigger around them, they would literally ruin the past if that happened. Resolving to keep this catastrophe from happening, Hermione hurriedly said, "He only means that since we're not from here, you'd probably not have heard of him before."

Lucius turned his icy stare to her. She thought she'd imagined it, it was so quick, but she swore that something about his stare wasn't quite as piercing as she'd thought. But he turned from her without saying anything, and went back to observing Draco like he had never seen anything like him in his life.

Although she couldn't blame him - in fact, she thought it rather made him seem more human.

After a little moment of them playing the staring contest, Lucius stated, rich with contempt, "Clearly I've been hearing overstatements about your thrilling personalities." He turned around, his blond hair glinting in the afternoon sunlight.

Just as he had made his way to the outskirts of the parted crowd, he barked suddenly, "Granger!"

Hermione jumped. "Er.. yes?"

"I'll be seeing you shortly."

"Er." She desperately wanted to ask him why, because firstly, he was a seventh year, and therefore would not be seeing her in any classes, secondly, she didn't fancy the idea of "seeing him shortly", and thirdly, hadn't he just declared his dislike for them?

But it was too late, and the elder - hardly - had disappeared. She shook her head in bewilderment, then turned around to deal with the other Malfoy.

Except he was already leaving towards Charms, and Lily was at her elbow, whispering that they were going to be late if they didn't hurry.

Hermione broke through the dispersing crowd and hurried up to Draco., Lily struggling to follow. "_What_ was that about? You nearly told him everything!" she said furiously.

"I thought you weren't talking to me?"

"I'm not, but this is important, you thick-headed prat!"

"Important, yes, but not to you."

She gritted her teeth. "I am seriously thinking of hexing you."

"So am I - wait, no, I'm not. I am seriously _about_ to hex you."

"Can't you just be bearable for once?" she exploded.

Something about what she said must have been particularly insulting (although she couldn't figure what), because all of a sudden, he stopped walking and turned around to face her, his eyes livid. "You don't know what it's like being here, _nothing_, Granger. If you're going to follow me around and insult me, then I strongly advise you know what you're talking about before you speak." He briskly walked away without turning back.

Hermione bit her lip, watching Malfoy until he turned the corner. Maybe she'd been too harsh - it _had_ been his father he'd just met. And she knew that the war had taken its toll on the Malfoy family, so perhaps right after meeting his teenage father wasn't the best time to chide him for his actions. She shook her head. Best not to think about it now.

Lily appeared next to her. "I've finally made it," she huffed. "Where's Draco?"

"He left," Hermione said shortly. "We better get to class."

They had just barely slid into their seats when the bell rang, and Professor Flitwick started the lesson. Hermione sighed and got out a blank piece of parchment for taking notes.

"Hermione!" someone whispered from behind her.

She hesitantly turned around to see James idly twirling his wand, his desk empty and attention obviously not on Flitwick. "What?" she hissed back.

"Tell Evans to meet me after class."

"No."

She turned back to catch the last words of Flitwick's introduction and was scribbling the date on her parchment when she heard her name again.

"Hermione!"

This time, she didn't turn around.

"Hermione!"

She pointedly leaned forward in her seat, almost knocking over her ink in the process.

"Hermione.."

"Shut up!" she whispered, glaring at him over her shoulder. As she tried to turn her focus to Flitwick, Lily gave her a sympathetic smile, and rolled her eyes in James's direction.

Oh well, she thought, as she gave up on taking notes. She knew this chapter of the book by memory, anyway - and it wasn't like she could focus. She risked a glance back to the corner where Malfoy sat, Remus next to him, and Peter diagonal. He was sitting stoically, not even pretending to pay attention to the lesson.

Honestly, it wasn't her fault she'd butted in, although she would admit it was slightly insensitive. But he couldn't blame her for asking him about it - it was his fault he was so quiet, when she knew that the Draco Malfoy back at home wouldn't _stop_ talking if he had the chance.

At this rate, she was beginning to think they were more civil ignoring each other than speaking. Whenever the Marauders, or even Lily, spoke about him, she actually thought he was alright. Sometimes.

Something prodded Hermione's shoulder. She looked down curiously to see a paper plane poking into her robes. She pulled it off her and narrowed her eyes before unfolding it.

_Tell Evans for me, please?_

_-James_

She moaned silently, then quickly wrote down:

_I doubt she'd say yes__**.**_

She used her wand to make it refold and fly back to James, making sure that it would poke his arm a few times before he could catch it.

The note came flying back in no time, this time with an additional note from Sirius.

_Couldn't hurt to try._

**He's tried eight hundred forty three times.**

Hermione couldn't help it - she laughed. Luckily, Flitwick didn't hear, but Lily did, and she looked at Hermione questioningly.

Hermione shook her head and waved her off, pointing towards the Marauders, who were grinning widely.

_Seriously, James? I thought you'd have been in the thousands by now. And shouldn't you both be _taking_ notes instead of sending them?_

_You're one to talk, you're not taking notes._

**Besides, we'll copy from Moony.**

_You will do no such thing._

No, you won't.

_Aw, come on, Moony!_

**Think of all we've done for you!**

Not much, now that I think about it.

_See, at least Remus is sensible._

I'd only let Wormtail copy.

**What? You traitor!**

Hermione thought this as ironic, seeing as it was "traitor" and all. But, she reminded herself, this Peter was very different from the one he would turn to be. He still deserved a chance.

At least he's trying, unlike you two.

_Hermione's not trying!_

_Because I've memorized this section already, I've memorized the whole book!_

**You're joking.**

_I'm not._

And that's why, if need be, I'd let Hermione copy.

The bell suddenly rang, and Hermione quickly got up, smirking at the Marauders.

"I can't _stand _Potter and Black!" Lily exclaimed furiously as James tried to wave her over.

Hermione scooped her quill and ink and put it in her bag. "They're annoying," she agreed, "but they're not _so _bad." She glanced over her shoulder at them. They were surrounding Malfoy, showing him the notes, probably trying to make him laugh. It didn't seem to be working though; he looked as if he was trying his best to get away, although she thought he seemed rather subdued in his efforts, like he didn't particularly care.

But that was probably just her imagination - the only reason why he wouldn't would be because he was okay with their company, or even liked it, but he'd made it perfectly clear he didn't care for the jokes and pranks of the Marauders to any extent. She turned back to Lily.

"That's what I thought too, until Potter started asking me out every time I walked into the room," she was saying distastefully. "And not just _asking_. He's tried to prank me into it, too! More times than I can count." She scowled.

Hermione laughed. "You're going to kill me for this, but I honestly think that's kind of cute."

Lily looked thoroughly disgusted. "That's what Poppy says. Not to mention every other girl that's not obsessed with that arrogant slimeball. And even if they _are_ - though I can't think of why - then they're still always telling me to go out with him."

Hermione grinned and patted Lily's shoulder. "Maybe there's more to him than you see. In any case, we have free period now, so good luck avoiding him. I'm going to run over to the library to check out some books for Transfiguration."

"Okay," Lily sighed, "I think I'm just going to stay in the dormitory, that way Potter can't get up the stairs to bother me."

"Sounds reasonable," Hermione smiled, before taking off to the library, leaving one Malfoy behind only to (unknowingly) run into another.

* * *

"There," Hermione breathed heavily, placing down the last of the four books she would be using for her Transfiguration essay on the table. She rummaged through her book bag and pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and her writing supplies.

She had opened the cover of the first book (Transfiguration Between the Ages) when a long hand extended out at promptly shut the book again.

"Hey!" she said indignantly, turning around to abdomish whoever it was. "What's your problem?"

"Again, you are being quite rude," said Lucius Malfoy, raising his eyebrows and walking to sit across from her, without asking.

"Who's being the rude one?" she muttered, not in the mood to speak to the clone of her arch nemesis.

Lucius pretended not to hear this, and instead kept his cold stare on Hermione, neither talking nor looking as if he were going to.

"What?" she snapped, after a few moments of unnerving silence, "If you haven't got anything to say, I'd like to work on my essay."

"Just who is this Draco Malfoy?" Lucius asked abruptly.

Hermione was not expecting this, and only stared at him for a moment before saying, "I'm not Malfoy, you know that, right?"

"Of course, I do."

"Er.. then shouldn't you be asking him this? Not me?"

"If I wanted to, I wouldn't be here."

"Why don't you want to?"

"Because I can ask you instead."

Hermione squinted at him nervously. "Are you okay? Are you going mental?"

He looked annoyedly back. "Stop wasting my time, Granger, I don't want to be seen with a Gryffindor."

Hermione leaned back at his bluntness. "Well, then. That just makes me want to tell you all about Malfoy."

"So do."

"If I do, will you leave?"

"As if I want to stay, I am merely interested in your companion."

"Everything you hear is going to be bad," she warned. When he didn't reply, she sighed then said, "What do you want to know?"

"Enlighten me on his background."

"Er," Hermione began spectacularly, "he's a Malfoy."

Lucius raised both of his eyebrows. "How observant."

"Well, _I_ don't know much about him, it's not like I've ever asked, nor cared to!"

"Fine." Lucius got up. "I had believed I could get information out of you-"

"What's that supposed to suggest?" Hermione said indignantly.

"-but it seems you are hopeless," he continued, ignoring her interruption.

"Happy I could teach you something," she said under her breath, but she wasn't complaining; he was finally leaving. "Now go."

"At least I've got something out of this - you're just as shady as he is." Lucius swept away towards the library doors, his black robes flying out behind him. Hermione huffed.

"_Honestly_, he's getting more annoying than the first one!" she muttered to herself, trying to resume her essay. But the words from her book became muddled before she'd even started the first chapter, and she closed it as quickly as she had opened it.

Hermione threw down her quill. No point in trying to think now.

A rustle came from behind her. Hermione turned around quickly. "That was my father," stated Draco, stepping from behind a bookshelf.

Hermione moaned and turned to face the table. Luck was clearly not on her side - two Malfoys, one after another!

"Well observed," she said sarcastically.

"I'd wondered what he'd meant, by seeing you shortly, so I decided to see for myself."

"So you've been stalking me, then," Hermione said monotonously.

"Don't flatter yourself, Granger, I was merely interested why my father would want to meet with you."

"Will you stop saying that?" she whispered furiously, looking around. "Someone might hear!"

Draco's response was leaning on the bookshelf and looking at her unconcernedly.

"Okay, you've heard what he wanted to know - by _eavesdropping_ - so please go away," she begged.

Unfortunately, he didn't, and he didn't seem as if he were going to go. On the bright side, Draco wasn't talking either, so Hermione began to think that pretending he wasn't there was sufficient enough.

There had been two minutes of perfect silence when Malfoy's voice cut through the air again.

"Why did he want to talk to you and not me?"

Hermione didn't know how to answer. Her original thought was to tell him off; that would be the natural thing to do. But something about Draco's voice this time was somehow.. sincere, and she felt that his tone somehow conveyed something deeper than curiosity, something dark, something that was almost like... hurt.

"Er. I don't know," she said hesitantly. "Maybe he didn't want to be rude by asking you himself?"

Draco only closed his eyes and said contemptuously, "My father is not one to care about manners, when speaking of himself."

"Well, don't ask me, ask him!" Hermione said defensively. "I don't know what's going on any better than you do."

Draco's eyes flew open and he stormed up to her table. "That's a lie, Granger, and you know it."

"Actually, I don't."

"He chose you to go to, not me, so of course you'd know the truth!" he spat, his grey eyes flaming up.

And that was when Hermione realized that this wasn't about her: it was about Lucius. As the bell rang, and he walked away, leaving Hermione to pack up and, once again, watch him leave. The one moment played out in her head, the one moment where she'd seen his eyes and thought they actually looked... human.

* * *

**Ah... I'm not quite proud this one, to be honest. I felt I could do loads better, but what I thought in my head while I was writing was completely different from what came out. **

**Thank you **_**so**_** much for everything: reviews, follows, etc. They're the things that keep me writing even if I don't want to! Please review if you can, I love hearing feedback!**


	5. UPDATE AND EXCERPT

**Firstly, I want to say that I'm absolutely, horribly sorry that I haven't updated, and even more so, because this isn't an update, either. **

**First off, I had a terrible week of preparations for testing, topped off with some writer's block. Then the weekend after that, I broke my arm (a rather embarrassing story, actually), and so it's been pretty hard to fit in writing to my hectic schedule, not to mention actually typing.**

**In the mean time, while my arm heals, I'm trying to work on the next chapter, but I'm afraid I'm not so far into it, but I'll try to fit in some writing after testing is over. I feel horrible for making you all wait so long, so I put up a little excerpt from the next chapter.**

**Again, I'm so sorry for all this! I'll definitely do my best to update for real, and sorry for getting your hopes up with this update!**

* * *

**Excerpt:**

Instead of the reaction Hermione was hoping the Marauders would have at these rather cruel words, they all turned thoughtful and simply contemplated the two.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked fiercely, and when they didn't answer, "I'm seriously thinking of leaving now."

"As am I," said Malfoy annoyedly.

"Don't," James said.

"It's really a miracle," Sirius added.

"Pardon, but _what's_ a miracle?" she said through gritted teeth.

"I see what you mean," Remus said slowly, his eyes darting from Hermione to Draco, the latter whom which scoffed and turned from the group.

"My wand is itching to hex you all," she threatened impatiently.

James turned to her in surprise. "You don't notice?"

"Notice what?"

"Tsk, tsk, and you're supposed to be smart."

"Even Wormtail's noticed!"

"I have!" Peter said proudly.

"_What_ are you talking about?!" She had to restrain herself from shouting too loudly - it wouldn't do to attract the _entire_ Gryffindor tower.

**To Be Continued**


	6. Purebloods and Muggleborns

**AH okay, firstly, I am so so so so so so sorry that I haven't updated in a few months. I had an extreme case of writer's block, as well as all my exams at school/a summer program to complete... but on the bright side, my arm is healed now (thank you for the well wishes!). **

**This chapter.. I feel wasn't quite my best, but I tried to get more interaction between Draco and the Marauders going on, since their relationship has sort of been neglected so far.**

**I'm going to do my best to update sooner now, and thank you for all your patience! Enjoy!**

* * *

After the incident with Malfoy and his father, Hermione did her best to observe the two, particularly Draco. It was much harder to observe the latter; he wasn't the type to loiter in the Great Hall for long.

Unfortunately though, this did not go as casually as she wanted - after three days, Lily began asking her if she fancied him, to which Hermione would disgustedly say "Merlin, no!", along with a variety of curses aimed at Malfoy.

But no matter how many times she did this, Lily was unconvinced, and even went so far as to tell their roommates about Hermione's (nonexistent) "crush". Even worse, all of them were thrilled to hear that Hermione was "falling for her worst enemy".

"I can see why" was the first comment from Poppy, followed by a greatly descriptive explanation by Jessamine that Hermione really didn't care to listen to. Emma said that it was like Romeo and Juliet, except with a happy ending. And quiet Hannah simply giggled and smiled at Hermione every time someone said "Draco".

Needless to say, no one would listen to Hermione protesting that _Malfoy_, not "Draco", was the world's biggest git, and she'd sooner get the Dementor's Kiss than have any positive feelings for him.

Luckily, this news did not spread to the Marauders. Lily's loathing of James kept her away from them, so Hermione found herself hiding from the persistent redhead by going over by the pranksters. Of course, this meant having to feel Lily's smug smile from afar - Malfoy was usually with the Marauders - but it was much more bearable with the distance between them and no words exchanged.

On a completely different matter, Hermione thought it was quite odd that Malfoy stayed near the Marauders so much - it might have been because he'd be completely alone without them, but she'd thought he said he didn't care for company, if they were less than his status.

In fact, one of the things that she observed most about him was his time spent with the four boys. He never seemed to talk, nor participate, in their plans, and always seemed disinterested, as if he didn't care to listen. But that was just what confused Hermione: that he _was _listening.

"He doesn't talk much," Remus pondered out loud when she'd asked him about it, "but James and Sirius accepted him into our group, so him being silent is just part of the everyday schedule."

"Doesn't he insult you?" she'd asked.

"Not much, anymore. And if he does, we don't really mind - it's like what James says: He's got the tongue of a Marauder."

This left Hermione even more confused. He was hardly insulting them? What was _with _him, defying everything he had said before? Did he actually consider Harry's dad to be his friend? Sirius Black? Remus Lupin? Peter Pettigrew? Or did he have some trick up his sleeve that he'd use later on?

These questions plagued her every day, and with each passing moment, she became more and more frustrated at her inability to come up with an answer. And each time she realized this, she'd get increasingly infuriated with Malfoy and his stupid confusing ways.

It wasn't until Sunday that Hermione finally received her answer, after much agonizing and time passed.

She was sitting in the common room, reading her book by the fireplace when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Peter standing timidly, his Charms essay in his hand.

"I was wondering if you could help me with this," he said timidly.

Hermione bit her lip. She still didn't fancy how he'd turn out in the future, but, she decided as she smiled at Peter, this was the past, not the future, and all he was doing was asking for help. "Sure, Peter, sit down here and I'll help." She gestured towards the chair beside her.

"Thank you!" he squeaked, handing her the parchment.

"Okay, what do you need help with?" she asked, opening his Charms textbook.

"Everything," Peter replied miserably. "I don't understand any of it."

"Everything? I'm sure you remember something."

"No, and I've tried to, honest, but I can't!" He looked down at his stubby hands as Hermione clucked her tongue.

"Come on, what about your past homework, this essay's basically a continuation of Wednesday's essay, remember things about that one."

"But James helped me on that one!"

Hermione's eyebrows shot up skeptically. "He helped you?"

"Well, he let me read his and told me I could copy if I wanted to."

Hermione stood up abruptly. "Peter, I will be right ba - JAMES POTTER!"

James, who had just sauntered down the stairs, looked up in surprise. "Hermione, what a pleasure!" he greeted as he walked towards her. "And what, may I ask, has brought up those beautiful tones of yours, today?"

"You let Peter _copy_ your homework?" she screeched.

"Ah, is this what it's about? Of course I let him! He's a fellow Marauder!" James slapped Peter on the back, to which Peter nearly toppled over as he beamed at James.

"But he can't _learn_, he can't process information if he cheats off of you guys!"

James shook his head slowly. "Hermione, I think I know what's the problem here: you think of it as cheating, but in reality, I'm just sharing my answers with him!"

Hermione reddened. "The problem," she said angrily, "is that you're not letting Peter learn! He's depending on you for all the answers and when you're not there, he's completely lost!"

"But Wormtail doesn't mind, do you, Wormy?"

"No, James!" Peter squeaked.

"Only because he hasn't been able to do things himself," she muttered as James grinned at her in triumph.

"Prongs! Leaving us all alone! How could you?" Sirius said dramatically as he, Remus, and Malfoy approached the three.

"What can I say? I had to console my damsel in distress here," James said smoothly, sidling up to Hermione.

She glared at him. "More like I had to straighten you out," she said menacingly.

"Now, now, Hermione, settle down, it's not like we're going to use this stuff in the future, anyway."

Hermione huffed and turned to Remus. "How do you _survive_ with them?"

"I can't," Remus replied, grinning slightly.

Hermione sat back down on her chair as the rest of the Marauders came and sat at the couch Peter was on. All, of course, but Malfoy.

She couldn't help but glare at him irritably. If he was so willing to join them, why wouldn't he sit down? There was space, and it wasn't like they were leaving him out - _why was the idiot standing_?

"I'm not altogether that fond of you staring at me, Granger, back off."

"I'm not staring at you," she snapped at his stony face before turning to see the Marauders grinning at her slyly. "What?" she asked, glancing repeatedly at each one.

"Evans was right," Sirius commented, shaking his head in wonder.

"She - what?" Hermione demanded, panic coming over her.

"Never would've believed it until I saw with my own eyes," James chortled.

"Lily? No, she wouldn't, not to James or Sirius, but then how-" Hermione stopped muttering to herself and looked straight at Remus. "Oh, Merlin, no."

"Oh, Merlin, _yes,_ Hermione! Why didn't you tell us before?"

"Shut up, Black, I wouldn't have told you even if it was true, and it's _not_," she fumed. But internally, her thoughts were in a frenzy. Merlin. If the Marauders knew, Malfoy probably had heard as well. Merlin. He was going to ruin her life, she thought as the git opened his mouth to speak.

"Don't worry, Granger, I get this all the time, except usually it's with better-looking girls," Malfoy smirked at her.

Instead of the reaction Hermione was hoping the Marauders would have at these rather cruel words, they all turned thoughtful and simply contemplated the two.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked fiercely, and when they didn't answer, "I'm seriously thinking of leaving now."

"For once, I agree with Granger," said Malfoy annoyedly.

"Don't," James said.

"It's really a miracle," Sirius added.

"Pardon, but _what's_ a miracle?" she said through gritted teeth.

"I see what you mean," Remus said slowly, his eyes darting from Hermione to Draco, the latter whom which scoffed and turned from the group.

"My wand is itching to hex you all," she threatened impatiently.

James turned to her in surprise. "You don't notice?"

"Notice what?"

"Tsk, tsk, and you're supposed to be smart."

"Even Wormtail's noticed!"

"I have!" Peter said proudly.

"_What_ are you talking about?!" She had to restrain herself from shouting too loudly - it wouldn't do to attract the _entire_ Gryffindor tower.

Sirius let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Have you," he pointed at Hermione, "not been living in this world? Haven't you noticed that this chap here," he gestured towards Draco's form, "never talks around us, around anyone?"

Hermione looked at him suspiciously. "Yes, I have. Where are you going with this?"

"He only talks when you're around!" James burst out.

She stared at him blankly. "Excuse me?"

"Hermione, you can't honestly not have noticed," said Remus, whose eyes were still on Draco, who had tensed up at James's words.

"I haven't, though!"

"Say, Draco, why's that so, anyway?" Sirius swiveled over to Draco.

"It's not, that's why," Draco said monotonously, causing Hermione to look triumphantly towards the Marauders.

"Hey, mate, no need to be shy, just let it all out," James said, bounding over and forcibly turning Draco to face the group.

"Come to think of it," Remus remarked thoughtfully, "why do you two hate each other anyway?"

Hermione and Draco swivelled and glared at each other, daring the other to go first. "Because he," Hermione spat out, "is prejudiced."

The Marauders turned to Draco, who freed himself of James's grip and was raising his eyebrows at Hermione, as if he expected her to say something else. After some silence, Sirius asked cautiously, "In what way?"

Hermione bit her lip, and was about to say exactly _what_ way, when Draco did it for her, his voice void of the curiosity she'd sworn she'd seen in his eyes.

"In the way you should be, _Black_, and maybe you as well, _Potter_." He turned and walked to the portrait hole and out, leaving the rest of them furrowing their eyebrows after him.

"What," James asked, facing Hermione quizzically, "what was that supposed to mean?"

Hermione glanced towards Sirius, who was staring after Draco with an expression she'd only ever seen on his future self. She looked back at James, who seemed genuinely confused about what had happened.

"I.. don't know," she told James hesitantly, her mind whirling for an excuse to get away. "I've got to get back to the dormitory." She pushed past him and raced up the steps, despite the calls for her to come back.

Luckily, no one was in the dorm - they were all out playing Quidditch or simply enjoying the sun outside. Hermione sat at the edge of her bed, contemplating Draco's words.

Obviously, he'd meant the Pureblood way of looking down at Muggleborns like herself. James might have not processed his words immediately, coming from a family who had long ago refused the Pureblood ways, not to mention this being an era where Pureblood hatred for Muggleborns wasn't quite as emphasized in public yet.

But Sirius... Sirius's family was deep into the Dark Arts and Pureblood customs - of course, he'd have understood Draco's words. She sighed, and wondered how Sirius would think about Draco now that he knew exactly what kind of Pureblood he was.

Hermione sighed again. How complicated things were becoming.

She brought her legs up and curled herself into a ball, rocking herself back and forth. Looking out the window, she wondered what everyone in the future was doing, and found herself wishing that Harry and Ron were there with her instead of Malfoy.

* * *

More than anything, Ronald Weasley wanted Hermione to come back. After what Dumbledore had told him and Harry, Hermione being stuck in the past seemed more dangerous than before.

A few weeks had passed, and Ron could feel himself slowly deteriorating. Not only that, but he could see Harry was doing the same. They were even less focused on their schoolwork, hardly ate, and would avoid talking to anyone but themselves and Ginny.

To stay away from their classmates was a lot harder than it seemed. Everyone noticed that Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy were both missing, and, as no one wanted to brave the Slytherin table and ask them where they thought they were, they aimed their questions at the other parts of the Golden Trio.

Harry and Ron would lie, saying they didn't know where she was, but people believed them anyway - it seemed their lack of life in them was obvious to others as well. Ron privately thought they would probably be faring a little better if they _hadn't_ known where Hermione actually was.

Lying to Ginny was a pain, too. After all, she was Ron's sister, Hermione's best friend, and Harry's crush. And the worst part was that she could see right through their lies, and knew they were aware of Hermione's location, if not the reason for leaving. So Ginny was added as a sidenote on their ever growing list of people to avoid.

All in all, Ron _really_ wanted Hermione to come back, and knew Harry felt the same. So as he and Harry sat in the common room, staring at the Marauder's Map (in hopes Hermione's name would show up), he wondered if the reason why Hermione was still in the past was because she didn't want to return to the future.

* * *

Hermione was simply walking through the second floor corridor, thinking she had enough time to wander around before curfew, when someone grabbed her arm (rather sharply) and she found herself in a broom closet.

"What the-" she spluttered out into the pitch black room, and pulled out her wand. "_Lumos_!"

The light from her wand illuminated the desperate face of Sirius Black, who let out a relieved breath.

"For a moment, I thought I'd taken in the wrong person," he said sheepishly.

Hermione glared at him and wrestled out of his grip. "Why am I here, Black?"

"I don't know, Hermione, what do you think?" he grinned, but Hermione saw that it didn't quite reach his eyes. The smile left his face, and he said quietly, glancing at the ground. "Just kidding, I was just going to ask you something."

She put on a puzzled face and motioned for him to continue, even though she already knew what it would be.

"Why was Draco talking like that? About Purebloods, and how we should be prejudiced?"

Hermione leaned back against the wall, analyzing Sirius's serious face. "Do you really want to know?"

"Thing is, I think I already do."

The two stood there, silently appraising one another. Hermione bit her bottom lip. She couldn't, she just couldn't tell him the truth, no matter how much he pleaded. That would ruin their false identity, that would ruin time itself. But on the other hand... this was Malfoy's fault, it wasn't fair that she be responsible for his words! What she had to deal with was his problem, not hers. Where was the git, anyway?

"What are you hiding?" Sirius asked, and Hermione's eyes widened a little. There was no expression in his voice, just solid determination. He not only suspected, but_ knew_ they were hiding something. She sighed. There was no getting out of this now - no amount of lies could convince him they were innocent.

"I can't tell you," she said bluntly, sidling her way towards the door of the closet. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you, or anyone else. Neither can Malfoy."

He reached out and caught the doorknob before she could. His eyes were firm, and words determined. "Draco really is a Malfoy, Hermione. What he meant was that we aren't good enough Purebloods, we're not succumbing to the Dark Lord like we should - he's telling us to be more like my family, Hermione!"

She pried his hand off of the knob. "I know that, and I find it despicable," she said quietly, "but I can't tell you why he thinks this."

"So just tell me two things," Sirius begged, "if you find him so bad, then why are you here with him? And.. is he trustworthy?"

Hermione sighed again and glanced up at him. "To the first question, as I've said, we really had no choice in the matter; back home, he's my worst enemy. And to the second question..." she trailed off. Was he, indeed, trustworthy? The obvious answer would be no, but she honestly couldn't think of a time where he explicitly was not trustworthy. Of course, she'd never been foolish enough to tell him anything of importance, but all the same..

"I don't know," she said truthfully. "I don't know if he is." She let herself out of the broom closet, and turned to look at Sirius. He was staring at the ground peculiarly, his brow furrowed as if he was recalling something. She closed the door silently. Was Draco Malfoy, indeed, trustworthy?

* * *

"Just go to them, for Merlin's sake!"

Hermione tore her gaze from the Marauders and Malfoy, to face an exasperated Lily, and raised her eyebrows. "I'd rather not."

"But you've been staring over at them for the past hour, Hermione - I'm fairly certain they've noticed by now," Lily said. "Besides, Draco's over there too, you can talk to him there!"

"How many times do I have to tell you this, Lily? I don't want to talk to Malfoy, let alone fancy him."

"Then why do you keep staring at him?"

It was true, Hermione supposed. She wasn't staring at the Marauders as much as she was at Malfoy. But she wasn't doing it for the reason Lily obviously thought she was - she was observing him. Hermione couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something changed about Malfoy, and she didn't like it.

Not that it seemed like a bad change. No, it wasn't that. It was actually the fact that it _wasn't _a bad change that made her suspicious.

"I'm not," Hermione replied shortly, and got up. "I'm going up to bed now. You coming?"

Lily nodded. "In a minute, you can go up first. But I still think you should go over there."

Hermione shook her head, and headed towards the staircase. She glanced back at the fireplace, where James was currently forcing Malfoy into a chair. And though Malfoy looked to be bored and disinterested, Hermione had known him long enough to see that there was something else hidden in his face, that was neither cruel, nor bitter.

For once, Draco Malfoy looked like he was having fun.

* * *

**Once again, I'm terribly sorry for the super long wait and the rather short chapter. I promise I shall try to update more now (I am now inspired to finish this, after three months)!**


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